Perhaps the single most important part of caring for your cat is ensuring that you are providing them with adequate nutrition. Cats with a consistent supply of balanced, digestible nutrients will enjoy better overall health, and potentially require less veterinary care. However, there are hundreds of different choices of cat food formulas on the market today. How can you be certain that you are providing your cat with the best possible nutrition?

The first step in choosing the right cat food for your cat is to check the first five ingredients.

These ingredients represent a large portion of the cat food formula. It is important to be wary of formulas that list corn, wheat or soy in the first five ingredients. These are high-carbohydrate ingredients, and have been potentially suggested to cause allergic reactions or food intolerance in some cats. Many people are opting to switch to low-carbohydrate cat food formulas, since these diets more closely resemble the nutritional needs of felines in the wild. In addition to this, it is ideal for the first ingredient of a cat food formula to be from the primary protein source listed on the front label. Remember, the ingredients in a cat food formula are listed by weight, and the first five ingredients represent a large part of the “bulk” of the formula.

For most cat food formulas, the phrase “You Get what you Pay For” is extremely accurate.

Many cat owners are under the misconception that purchasing cheaper cat food formulas is an economical choice when feeding their cats. In reality, this is not true. Many cats need to consume a higher volume of an inexpensive cat food brand in order to satisfy their nutritional cravings. As many cheap cat food formulas are filled with high-carbohydrate products, this can eventually result in obesity. The chance of a cat experiencing a medical problem that requires veterinary attention is much higher when a cat is fed a cheap, high-carbohydrate cat food formula. In the long run, “Budget” cat food could potentially end up being more expensive than purchasing a premium brand.

Wellness Cat Food is manufactured by the “Old Mother Hubbard” pet supply company, which was first founded in 1926. All of the Wellness cat food formulas are produced without artificial colors, artificial flavors, or preservatives. In addition to this, there are no corn, wheat, soy, or meat by-products included in Wellness brand Cat Food. Wellness Cat Food is available in several different dry and canned formulas, which are also available for cats in specific life-stages. Wellness is also available in a grain-free, low-carbohydrate formula, which is named Wellness CORE. This formula contains a Guaranteed Analysis of 50% protein (four of the first five ingredients are protein-based), while all of the other Wellness cat food formulas contain 30% protein or more. All of the Wellness Cat Food formulas are produced from protein that does not contain any hormones, steroids, or artificial growth products.

Thanks for the information. I have a few questions which maybe you could discuss in future articles. The first is what is better to feed your cat…dry vs. canned. There has been an on-going discussion as to which is better. I feed my 3 cats a combination of both. The second is whether a raw diet is beneficial. There are some who feed their cats a raw diet and swear it is the best thing. The third issue that I have is regarding the glycemic index. Lately, I’ve been seeing cat foods labeled as being low glycemic. What does this mean, exactly? And is it beneficial to feed your cat a low glycemic diet?

Please remember some very basic facts about cats before considering any food.

-A cat is an obligate carnivore, the strictest of all carnivorous mammals.

-A cat has no teeth which can grind. All they can do is tear. The fangs in front are piercers and the canines on the sides are like scissors. All they can do with kibble is merely shatter it. Most cats swallow it whole. This is why they are synonymous with vomiting. In fact, they are totally incapable of chewing altogether as their jaws do not rotate.

-A feline has a naturally low thirst drive. They are designed by nature to get required moisture in their food.

Please check with an encyclopedia, or a Zoologist to confirm these facts. Pet food COs and vets are getting rich from all these preventable cat health issues. Veterinarians’ ONLY “nutritional” courses are funded-provided by COs such as Hills & Purina, which is why most vets won’t tell you this.

Do some research. Then I can recommend this site, as there is no reliable food review site for cats yet. catinfo.org is written by a feline expert, but understandably, the DR. can not not review each and every food out there like dogfoodanalysis.com does for dogs.

It actually is the ingredients in front of the first fat or oil that make up the bulk of the dry food. I am a pet nutritionist and have been told many different things. Quality is everything. Buy the best that you can afford and read everything. Do your own research and don’t rely on anyone else. Oh, and I feed Blue Buffalo Wilderness wet and dry. It is grain free and it works for me. That does not mean that it will work for you since all cats are different.

I absolutely agree with LeoTheLion and Karin. As a veterinary nurse I do have to add one more piece of valuable info though: Make sure the diet you are feeding your cat includes a sufficient amount of an essential organic acid for cats, called Taurine. They can’t produce it naturally themselves and therefore can only receive it through their diet. AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials ) approved diets will always contain at least 0.1% of Taurine in the dry food and at least 0.2% of it in canned foods. So to play it safe, make sure to look in the Analysis section of the food brand to confirm it has at least the minimum percentage of Taurine or just make sure the brand is AAFCO approved.